The Celebrity Archaeology Podcast

PODCAST EPISODE 9 - Joe Namath

Joe Namath is a former American
football quarterback and actor known as much for playing on the
field as playing off the field. The Beaver Falls,
Pennsylvania native 1969 Super Bowl III star made headlines while
escorting arm candy such as Mamie Van Doren, Randi Oakes and Raquel
Welch. He even dated Janis Joplin. But it was in 1984 that Joe's
bachelor days were over when, at age 41, he married 22 year old
Deborah Mays. He said at the time: "She caught my last pass." The
marriage lasted almost 15 years and produced two daughters, Grace
and Olivia. Mays ,
who said she was "bored" with Joe, took off with a Beverly Hills
plastic surgeon and left Namath with the two girls in
Florida. Namath
began his football career at the University of Alabama from
1962-1964. Paul "Bear" Bryant said he was the most natural athlete
he ever coached. He left Alabama early for a professional football
career and didn't earn his degree from the university until 2007 at
age 64. Joe played professional football in both the American
Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for over
13 years during the 1960s and 1970s. He was an AFL icon and played
for the New York Jets for most of his professional football life.
He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to
the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. In total, he played 143
games in the AFL and NFL. He made it to three division champions
(the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West
Champion Rams), and earned one league championship (1968 AFL
Championship). His
one Super Bowl victory was Super Bowl III in 1969. Chronic injuries
from the game continue to haunt him. In 1992 ,he had knee
replacement surgery on both knees. He also says that he has had
long term health problems as a result of concussions while playing
football. "None of the body was designed to play football," he told
the New York Daily News in 2014. "Excuse me, you know, football,
we're just not designed for." Joe's other career paths including
nightclub ownership, sports commentator, film star and TV
actor. You can
catch him in such films as C.C. and Company with Ann-Margret or
reruns of The Love Boat, The A-Team and Married...with children. He
also appeared in summer stock. At the height of his fame, he was
seen in a TV commercial wearing Hanes pantyhose and one in which
Farrah Fawcett gave him a close Noxema shave. An embarrassing on-air moment
came for a drunken Namath in 2003. He told sports interviewer Suzy
Kolber: "I want to kiss you. I couldn't care less about the team
struggling." He apologized and two weeks later entered an
outpatient alcohol treatment program. In 2013, Namath's daughter
Olivia married her baby daddy at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota,
Florida. She was
just 16 when she had Erwin Baker III's daughter. Baker has a
lengthy rap sheet including pleading guilty in 2006 to armed
robbery and assault with a deadly weapon at a McDonald's near his
home. Namath gave the bride away.